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UCL Grand Challenges

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Education

Grand Challenges maximises the potential of UCL's world-class students, equipping them with the skills and experience to work collaboratively to address global issues during their time at university and in their future careers.

Empowering students to make a positive impact

In collaboration with students who want to make a difference, we are working to embed Grand Challenges across UCL, creating opportunities to reflect, innovate, and collaborate for undergraduates and postgraduates alike.

From Innovation Labs to elective modules, we support UCL students to embrace a challenge-led interdisciplinary approach to learning. Equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and ambition to seek sustainable and inclusive solutions to the world’s most urgent local, national, and global issues.

Leadership and Project Management Team

  • Simon Knowles, Head of Coordination, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UCL Grand Challenges  
  • Zulekha (Zu) Mayet, Programme Officer, UCL Grand Challenges  
  • Milly Metcalfe,  Coordinator for Education, Student Experience, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UCL Grand Challenges

Grand Challenges Educational Initiatives in 2024/25 include: 

  • Embedding the Grand Challenges themes and approach in the UCL curriculum
  • Activities in partnership with:
    • UCL Innovation & Enterprise
    • UCL Changemakers
    • Sustainable UCL
    • UCL Higher Education Development & Support Institute
  • Sponsorship of the UCL Academy
  • Mapping the UN Sustainable Development Goals in UCL modules

Education in action

 

UCL Academy logo

Interdisciplinary Curriculum Integration

The UCL Academy's connected curriculum initiative is built on the UCL Grand Challenges principle of interdisciplinary study, providing transformative experiences for students and staff.

SDGs

Mapping SDGs at UCL

Increasing numbers of modules are equipping UCL students with the skills and knowledge that will help them to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals in their future careers (UCL Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023, pp.14-21).

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ChangeMakers x Grand Challenges

Grand Challenges is partnering with UCL ChangeMakers to support students and staff to work together to embed the themes in teaching and learning across the university.

Innovation and enterprise logo

Innovation Labs x Grand Challenges

Grand Challenges is partnering with UCL Innovation and Enterprise to create extracurricular opportunities for students to work together across disciplines to find creative solutions to issues arising from the themes.

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Grand Challenges Teaching Toolkit

UCL Grand Challenges is developing a toolkit to provide inspiration and guidance for how the themes and approach can be embedded in teaching across UCL. 

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Partner with UCL Grand Challenges

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If you are an employer who would like to discuss working with UCL students to deliver a consultancy project linked to the Grand Challenges or UN SDGs, please contact the UCL SDG team: sdg@ucl.ac.uk